Rare’s piratical sandbox Sea of Thieves launched a little light in terms of cargo in the hold back in 2018, but in it’s time at sea, it has gone from strength to strength, with the developers at Rare remaining committed to bringing fans of the game more of what they wanted.
6 years later, with full wind in its 40 million sails, Season 12 of Sea of Thieves has launched once again – this time on PlayStation 5, with an update coinciding for all the other platforms.
Season 12 brings with it a whole host of new tools, and earlier seasons streamlined the game in readiness of incoming new players. My last full review for Sea of Thieves was made all the way back in 2020, so with a new update and a whole host of new pirates potentially on the horizon, my crew and I unfurled our sails and took to the ocean once more.
We Shall Sail Together
Rare made a decision six years ago when it released Sea of Thieves, designing a game that shirked the traditional levelling mechanic that exists in most games. It was criticised quite heavily at the time, with players annoyed at the lack of traditional “levelling up” in Sea of Thieves – the idea that the longer you spend doing something, the more powerful you become.
Instead, Rare opted for a different form of progression, where any and all gear that your pirate can equip is the same for all players, regardless of play time. A player like me, with something like 600+ hours in Sea of Thieves is exactly as powerful as a brand new player booting up on PlayStation for the first time. The only thing that separates us is experience, and while knowledge is valuable, my sword cuts as deep as theirs. Instead, progression comes in the form of levels with various factions and merchants.
That decision has really paid off, and Sea of Thieves is one of the most accessible games for new players because of it. It relies on it’s now vast array of tools and features to let players play pirate in the most Rare way possible, and importantly in a way that now values their time.
Fresh Fish
Wannabe-pirates that are new to Sea of Thieves will find a handy tutorial – “The Maiden Voyage” which teaches most of the necessary mechanics one would need to make their way into the more threatening and far broader horizons of Sea of Thieves – trimming sails for the wind, digging for treasure and managing and repairing your ship.
Players can choose to play alone, ask the game to matchmake them with other random pirates, or crew your ship with friends. They can also choose to play in either the traditional shared world with other players, or the much quieter ‘Safer Seas‘.
Safer Seas is designed for players that prefer to play Sea of Thieves with a primary focus on the PvE experience, safe from the threat of other pirates looking for the thrill of Pirate-versus-Pirate combat. You can of course still encounter threats out on the open ocean, from skeleton crewed galleons, ghostly green ships firing wailing spectres from their cannons, or fearsome megalodons and ferocious storms.
Safer Seas does lose the most alluring aspect of playing Sea of Thieves at all, which is of course, encountering other people. Removing the excitement (and fear!) of spotting other sails on the horizon, knowing that yes, it’s another crew, and yes, they could mean trouble dulls the brilliance of the games original design. If you’re new to the game, I’d absolutely suggest sticking to the High Seas mode, perhaps once you’ve got your sea legs sorted.
Better with Friends
While Sea of Thieves does support single player piracy in the 1-2 player Sloop, in my humble opinion, it’s not the best way to play. If you have any friends, teaming up in either a brigantine (3 players) or a full size Galleon (4 Players) is an absolute blast.
Nautical combat remains the shining highlight in Sea of Thieves, with crews performing a kind of chaotic ballet of repairing, steering, trimming sails and firing cannon against other vessels. It’s still occasionally frustrating when the combat transitions to more traditional on-foot action, with sword and gunplay never being ever more than serviceable – even after 6 years, it remains the most undercooked aspect of this pirate fantasy.
There are a huge number of story driven campaigns available, in the form of absolutely brilliant Tall Tales. There’s the Pirates of the Caribbean themed one, a Monkey Island “point-and-click-in 3D” tie-in, but without a doubt, the best of the bunch is the incredible Shores of Gold. To this day, it remains the most incredible experience I’ve ever had in a multiplayer game, where our crew where racing against another as we solved the mystery on the games shared server, encountering them every other island while both teams were figuring out clues, battling, escaping and outwitting each other. It was almost a Goonies-style adventure, completely unscripted and full of surprising moments.
It helps to that even six years into it’s live-service journey, Sea of Thieves remains an absolutely incredible game visually. The sunsets, the storms, the overall vibrancy and gorgeousness of the various islands and biomes remains a visual feast for the eyes. Of course, that incredible deep blue ocean is always on display, with it’s swelling waves, spray and splendour. It’s a timeless art-style, and looks incredible no matter where you’re playing.
Plenty to do…if you’re new
Suffice to say, Rare have added an absolutely crazy amount of brilliant content to Sea of Thieves in the 6 years the game has been at sea. For new players, the sheer number of different things one can do is frankly, overwhelming, and the joy of discovery for those new players is something I deeply envy.
For grizzled old Sea Dogs like me, I fear there is still not enough to keep me coming back, regardless of how much I love the game. The gameplay loop of quests, sailing and digging for treasure or battling skeletons has been repeated so much in my time with the game, that a lot of it starts to feel pointless for me. I have so much coin, and care not for the commendations and levels of the various factions not one bit. Instead, I venture on to the waves every now and then to try and chase down the things that have happened before, but alas – emergent moments are unique, and while they were incredible, you can’t will them into existence.
That’s all because Sea of Thieves is primarily about stories I think, and it’s in this emergent gameplay loop that the game truly shines. It’s the kind of thing that is hard to replicate on demand, but players that have found it in their time with Sea of Thieves forever want to chase it. I can’t blame them.
A Shining Sea
Sea of Thieves remains an incredible experience for those of us who like to venture out into the unknown. The framework provided by the quests and the world is merely a routine, a backdrop of activities that allows the wonderfully unexpected and often hilarious to happen. It’s a beautiful and incredibly realised shared-world adventure, and for many players, the question of what might be over that horizon remains as alluring as ever.
Sea of Thieves (2024)
Played on
Xbox Series X
PROS
- Incredible visuals
- Wonderful emergent gameplay
- Nautical combat is incredible
- Great fun with friends
- Amazing Music and Atmosphere
CONS
- On-foot combat is still kinda meh
- Gameplay loop wears thin (if you've already played 600 hours)
